Quick and Easy All-Dairy Pudding

I call this the All Dairy pudding. Because that's exactly what this is an all dairy pudding. I don't use anything to thicken it and it has no flours as such but it's still a pudding. Did I forget to mention, it has only two ingredients?

I absolutely adore this pudding. I could eat it everyday.

What you need:

1/2 cup of Thick Yogurt
1/4 cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk

What to do:

1. In a microwave safe bowl mix the two ingredients well. Add more or less condensed milk depending on your preference.
2. Important step: Microwave at 60% for 20-30 seconds till you see a very few bubbles come out. Do Not OVERCOOK! it will make the pudding grainy and weird. You just want to set the yogurt not curdle it.
3.When moved, the pudding should reveal water below from the yogurt. But it should be firm and not granular.
4. Refrigerate for an hour till chilled.


This isn't the best picture but yes it is the best dessert:

Super Easy Diced Salad

Its time for another Salad! I invented this last night. It was fabulous and one the easiest dressings I ever made!

I may sound idiotic posting this because you don't need to be a genius to invent this recipe but I have to tell you that it's the right combination of vegetables and fruits that make this salad a hit.


What you need: (Serves 2)

1 Cucumber, diced
1/2 an Apple, diced
1 small Carrot, diced
1 Pineapple Ring, diced
Sprigs of mint to garnish
2 tbs yogurt
1-2 tsp honey
a pinch of salt

What to do:

1. Mix yogurt with honey and salt and stir in the diced veg and fruit.
2. Enjoy!

Wholemeal English Muffins

I always look out for something interesting to make for breakfast because there are such limited nutritious breakfast choices. At my place It's generally eggs or cereal and it can really get monotonous for me.

These Wholemeal English Muffins (I pointed out the differences between the British name and the American name in my last post) are just so easy to make and can be eating with anything you want. I made these all the more nutritious by using a blend of soy, oat, barely and whole grain wheat flour another one of my concoctions.

What you need: (Makes 4 small sized muffins)

1 cup of wholegrain flour/ or you can experiment with different flours like I did.
5 gm fast-action dried yeast
A pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
water to bind

What to do:

1. Prepare yeast with warm water and sugar.
2. Mix flour with salt and place in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the fermented yeast and knead. Add water as per requirement.
3. Keep aside for an hour in a dry place.
4. When doubled in size punch back and form four balls with them and leave aside for another 30
5. A little trick that I use: I microwave the ball shaped dough for 1 minute on 60% power instead of waiting for them to rise again. It's a smart thing to do, it saves you time and you can be certain that you wont have partially uncooked muffins.
6. Heat a griddle with some pan spray or just a hint of olive oil and cook on both sides, covered; for about 7 minutes till well done. Do not let the griddle get too hot or the muffins will burn from the outside while remaining raw from the inside.
7. Cut in the center and serve with anything you like.


So how do you like them?

Sweet: (Nutella filling)


or

Salty: (omelet filling)

Cola Chicken

I came across this on Spark Recipes and actually read the ingredients twice. Who would ever want to make chicken in Cola??!!

But I love experimenting, So I went for it.

The original recipe is quite basic, has just three ingredients but just reading them make me shift about my seat. I needed something more. So I modified it as I usually do and I loved the results. This is supposed to be a Southern American/Texan type dish, but honestly it tasted too Chinese-y to me and it paired brilliantly with stir fried egg-noodles.


What you need:

1 full chicken cut into curry pieces ( about 1 kg)
1 (330 ml) can of Coca Cola/ Pepsi ( I used diet)
¼ cup barbecue sauce
¼ cup of tomato ketchup
2-3 flakes of garlic, sliced
1-2 tsp chili flakes
2 tbsp cornflour
Salt and pepper as per taste

What to do:

1. Rub salt all over the chicken and let it sit for about 15-20 min
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
3. Place the chicken in a nonstick roasting tin
4. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the chicken
5. Bake covered with foil for 1 hour. Then bake uncovered for 20-30 min more till sauce is thick and chicken is cooked.

My first Daring Bakers Challenge!

WOW! this was such an exciting day.. My first ever Daring Bakers challenge!!
We had to make a lovely Caramel Cake witha very unique caramelized butter frosting that Shuna Fish Lydon posted on Bay area bites. And by the way she has a brilliant blog too.

I loved it so much, I made it TWICE.

My first cake was just as the recipe called for..

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

1.Preheat oven to 350F

2.Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

3.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

4.Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

5.Sift flour and baking powder.

6.Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

7.Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

8.Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

9.Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

1.In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

2.When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

3.Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

1.Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

2.Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

3.In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light


And Voila!

Yes that is nutella..

I kept the frosting casual and used it quite sparingly. The cake is quite sweet.



The second time I made it, I used Splenda and did not ice the cake on top just sandwiched the cake with some butter-caramel frosting made with Splenda. It still tasted great.




So summing up: my experience as a daring baker has been awesome. I want to thanks Lis and Ivonne for letting me be a part of this wonderful community. I'm eager to know whats up next month :D

Sun dried Tomatoes

Have you ever died tomatoes in the sun? We'll I have and its fun!

I dried some a while back and I have to tell you I loved the results.The tomato miraculously transforms into a chewy candy which has a strikingly intense flavor. It tasted great as a filling for the bread I made and also as a dip.

Its quite simple to do and once you do it this way, you don't need to buy the oil soaked ones from a store.

If you stay in a sunny place (I do, its even hot in winter) you can do this with such ease its not even funny. But if you don't you can use an oven to speed up the process.

What you need:

Large tomatoes, as many as you want
Salt
baking sheet/tray
Cheesecloth
The Sun or an Oven

What you need to do:

1. Slice the tomatoes into very thin slices and lay them onto the baking tray(s)
2. Sprinkle salt all over them
3. Cover with the cheesecloth
4. Leave to dry where there is direct sunlight
5. It takes about a 7-11 days depending on the sun but you can use an oven after drying them out for a while. Also make sure to refrigerate at night.


I know, they look fab. They taste even better

Super Easy Ice Cream Cake

I will be really busy in the next couple of days so I'm writing two scheduled posts today.

OK so this was NOT low fat. Unlike my last post this one is loaded with calories and despite my diet, I did this one for a couple of friends who came over to work on a project. But only we know how much WORK we ended up doing *wink wink*

Anyway back to the cake. I love Nigella's show andI saw this recipe on Nigella Express and I just had to make it-- but of course with my modifications (a girls gotta have some individuality right?) Nigella made hers too rich with a lot of chocolate chips and way too much caramel sauce mine was even more express and lighter.

What you need:

1.5 liter carton of Vanilla ice cream
5-6 chocolate covered biscuit chocolate bars like Kit-Kat
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbs butter
2 tbs single cream
1/4 cup water


What to do:

1. Make a caramel butter suace: Melt the sugar and caramelize it. When caramelising quickly add the cream and stir. Be careful it really splutters. Then add the butter as well stir until sauce is thick and of one consistency.

2. Crush the chocolate bars either with your bare hands or using a rolling pin or a like instrument, into coarse pieces.

3. Soften the ice cream and using a hand whisk or an electronic whisk on a low speed, incorporate the softened ice cream with the chocolate. Stir in some caramel sauce as per your taste.

4. Pour in a clip cake tin and set till firm. You can top a little caramel sauce while serving as well.

5. Cut into slices and as I always say, enjoy!

REALLY Low Fat Strawberry Cheesecake

I've been really trying to cut down on the calories but It's so hard to do with my sweet tooth. I almost always crave for dessert. I often just chew on fruits to curb my sugar attack but today I needed something more.

I made a cheesecake. You must think I must be totally out of my head to even consider that a term that contains the words "Cheese" and "Cake" could ever be low fat. I'm here to prove you wrong. I made a Strawberry Cheesecake without cheese and strawberries.

What you need:

1 package strawberry flavored low-fat, sugar-free pudding mix. [One that asks you to mix 750 ml (3cups) to it]
1 cup of low-fat yogurt, hung for 2-3 hours or just use a really creamy variety without the hanging
1 cup of muesli
1 tbs melted butter or yogurt whey
1 tbs powdered gelatin
1 bar strawberry fruit bar (optional)

What you need to do:

1. Prepare pudding as per instructions only one major modification: reduce the 750 ml(3cups) of milk to 500(2cups) ml of milk. You need to get a really thick and extra sweet pudding. Leave aside to cool.

2. Crush the muesli in a bowl and pour melted butter or whey (makes it slightly soggy but if your really cutting down this is the way to go) and line in a clip cake tin or quiche tin. Freeze for 10 minutes.

3. Puree the cooled pudding with the yogurt and pour into a mixing bowl.

4. Dissolve gelatin in hot water and pour into the pudding mix, stir vigorously. Pour over muesli lined tin. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours till firm and set.

5. Cut pieces of the strawberry bar for garnish.(optional)

6. Cut into REALLY large slices and enjoy; you can afford to!


The pudding should look this thick:





And that's the final cheesecake:

Stuffed Chicken Steaks with Coconut Sauce

The other day I saw this recipe on TV and I just wanted to try it so so so badly!! it looked so good just watching it made my mouth water.

This one is rich in spices but has a rather simple preparation. Chicken breasts are marinaded and then stuffed with cottage cheese and herbs and broiled in hot water that has been tempered with spices. The sauce is prepared separately and topped on the cooked chicken just before serving.

I loved the result. However I was not satisfied with the stuffing. The original recipe called for pomegranate seeds and chopped onion in the stuffing along with other things but personally I didn't like the taste of the hot pomegranate and soggy onion. In fact the onion turned the pomegranate into a pale shade of purple and it looked quite strange so it's best avoided. It is a rich dish, but if you want it really light avoid the cheese in the stuffing and you can have this without the sauce. It's lovely and light without the sauce and the cheese and still great in taste.




What you need:

For the Marinade:
4 chicken breasts, pounded and flattened
1½ tbs ginger paste
1½ tbs garlic paste
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds powder
juice of half a lemon
Salt as per taste


For the stuffing:
1 cup cottage cheese, crumbled
¼ cup grated cheese (any one that melts really well)
2 tbs coriander leaves
½ tsp chopped green chilies
juice of half a lemon
Salt as per taste


For the broil:
4-5 sticks of cinnamon
4-5 green cardamoms
1 tsp mace powder
a few black peppercorns
2 tsp of clarified butter or oil


For the Sauce:
½ cup cashews
½ cup dessicated coconut
1 tbs butter or oil
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
½ cup whisked yogurt
½ tsp fennel seed powder
½ tsp green cardamom powder
a pinch of mace powder
a pinch of nutmeg powder
1 tsp chili powder
1½ tsp black cardamom powder
Salt as per taste


What you need to do:

1. Marinade: marinade the chicken breasts with the spices listed for the marinade. Keep aside for 30 minutes.

2. Stuffing: Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing and divide into four parts. Lay it on each marinaded chicken breast and join edges of the chicken. Secure with toothpicks.

3. Broil: Heat the clarified butter/oil in a large deep bottomed dish and add the listed spices. When spices splutter, pour about 1½ cups of water into the dish and immediately place the stuffed chicken breasts. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil and cook over a low heat for 20-25 minutes till well done. Add more water if needed.

4. Prepare Sauce: Dry roast the cashews and dessicated coconut till browned and then puree with a little water. In a wok heat the oil/butter, add ginger, garlic and when it browns add the yogurt and salt and let it cook for a while. Then add the cashew and coconut paste and rest of listed spices and saute for 5 min. In the end add 3-4 tbs of the water left behind after the steaks have broiled and stir well.

5. Serve: Place the chicken breasts on a dish and pour the gravy over it. Enjoy!






That's how the original version looked from inside.. but the onions and pomegranate seeds are not mentioned in the modified and better version listed above. This dish was a real winner.

And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

My mum has this little potted lemon tree in the house. We'll I thought it was a lemon tree but the other day one lemon fell off and we opened it and saw something of an orange. It takes EONS to grow and the little lemon/orange/wild citrus fruit, has been growing for nearly 3 months. It just doesn't get any bigger!






The pretty pot that it is in.





the lemon up close. Cute right?


Oh Soy!

I saw this show on T.V. a while ago teaching you how to make soy milk and tofu at home without any fancy gadgets.

I was so fascinated by its ease that I bought 2kg of soy beans that very day. It was simple, you were supposed to soak the beans in water overnight and blend them with water the next day. After that you simply needed to push it through a cheesecloth and presto! Soy Milk!

You could boil that Soy milk with a little coagulant and voila! tofu! I did it for two days in a row, smug as ever about my great achievement. And then that evening my ego deflated.. big time. I fell ill. Got a disgusting nauseous feeling and I knew it had to be the tofu.

I did not want anything to do with tofu or soy milk for weeks. And then I read this article on Bryanna's Blog. She clearly mentioned two critical things:1. Soak the beans in boiling water and 2. Boil the milk for about a half hour!

So the reason for the naueseousness was undercooked soy milk!
So I did it again.. only this time I did it right! wow I feel great! the tofu tasted even better than before and no nauseous feeling this time!


What I did:



took 2 cups of soy beans and soaked them in boiling water over night




next morning this is what happened; the beans just blew up!





Then I had to grind them first with a little water and then more water till I got this thick paste.. which I pushed through a cheesecloth, and that lovely amber liquid is the Soy Milk!





I had to wind the cheesecloth several times and completely squeeze out the soy milk till this is how the husk looked; completely dry. If you don't feel like throwing this away, don't! u can always use this as a replacement of soy protein in dishes.. but remember to cook for at least 1/2 an hour, because I learned the hard way, you don't need to do that :)


You boil the lovely amber colored soy milk till it almost boils over on a high flame. Then reduce the flame to low and cook for about a half an hour, stir frequently. Turn off the flame.


When the milk is a little cool, turn on the heat again and add about 2-3 teaspoons of vinegar and see if it starts breaking up.. if it does, you don't need to add more if it doesn't, add more!
Push this through a cheesecloth and place in a colander and weigh down with any heavy object.





Once dry ease away from the cheesecloth, and behold! Tofu!

You can stop reading here and do you own thing with the tofu. You can store it in the refrigerator in a little water and be sure to change the water everyday. But if you want to know what I did with it.. read on!



I sliced them up.. it is a bit crumbly. I put some rice flour in a bowl and mixed it with a bit of salt and oregano and dipped the pieces of tofu in it.




and fried them. The reason I dipped them in rice flour is because it gives a wonderful crisp coating and at the same time rice flour absorbs less oil than wheat flour.




Drain them on paper towels.. OK I cheated. I coated pieces of cottage cheese with the same flour and flied them after I fried the tofu. Can u guess which is what?




These taste great with any kind of sauce. You can eat them just this way or do what I did above, stir fry them with veggies and any stir fry sauce! YUM!

What a day!

Huevos Rancheros

I love Mexican food. The spices, colors and textures are quite similar to Indian food and that's why the ingredients are quite easy to find in my kitchen.

What I love is the liberal use of tomatoes which gives so much body to every dish.

I Made this great Mexican style breakfast dish today with a few modifications.

What you need: (serves 1)

2 med. sized tomatoes; peeled and finely chopped

1/2 an onion, chopped finely

1 green chili; finely chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic; peeled and chopped

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 a green bell pepper; finely diced

1/2 tsp of red chili powder

1/8 tsp of cumin seeds

2 tsp of tomato ketchup

1 egg

Salt to taste


What to do:

1.On a med-high flame, Pour a bit of olive oil in a wok and stir fry the onions,green chili, pepper and garlic for a bit put in the cumin seeds. Let it soften.

2. Add the tomatoes, basil, ketchup, red chili powder and salt and let it roast for a bit.

3. Cover and cook on a low flame for 10 min or so till soft and thick.

4. Put the sauce in a plate and top with a fried egg.

So that's all! I had mine with a nice refreshing glass of OJ. what a way to start the day. :)

'Tang'y Fruit Salad

I'm on this whole health food kick.

I love eating fruit salad not only because its nutritious and all that, but because it is delicious especially when its made with the freshest seasonal fruits you can find. But what I look for in a fruit salad is the individual taste of every fruit and I hate when the fruit salad is so over 'tossed' that it tastes like one big bowl of fruit puree.

I don't believe in making something simple like fruit salad overly calorific by dressing it with any kind of rich dressing. But I have a trick that makes the most brilliant fruit salad while keeping it simple and low cal.

What you need:

3 cups. of a bunch of your favorite fruits, De-seeded and diced into small pieces. Choose fruits with a firm flesh so that they retain their shape after being tossed about. I used apples, pomegranate, oranges and kiwi (I know it mashes up but I put it right in the end)

1/4 cup. (optional) mixed nuts and dry fruits (almonds, walnuts, dried figs and raisins)
2-3 tsp. of Orange flavored 'Tang' or any similar drink powder.

1/2 tsp. (optional) Indian Chaat Masala- you can buy it or make your own


What to do:

1. Place the firm fleshed fruit in a big bowl

2. Put in half the nuts and dry fruit in the bowl and toss gently

3. Sprinkle tang and chaat masala all over and toss again. Let it sit for a while in the fridge.

4. Before serving sprinkle the remaining nuts and fruits and the mashy fruit if any and eat!


The Tang serves two purposes: an easy dressing and prevents fruit discoloration because of the citric acid in it. Isn't that cool?

Hi World!

Hi everyone
you can call me food fan.. but then again who isn't?

This is my blog. I hope to share a LOT of recipes and anything related to food.

This really isn't the best intro but it covers the ground or should I say plate?

See ya!